


in passing

by hiyokooo



Category: K (Anime)
Genre: Gen, don't die asshole, happy birthday hisui, jungle family feels, more like asshole family feels, none of you better die, rating is for sukuna's bratty mouth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-11
Updated: 2015-11-11
Packaged: 2018-05-01 03:13:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5189948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hiyokooo/pseuds/hiyokooo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sukuna in a fit of thoughtfulness, decides to bake a cake for Nagare’s birthday. How hard can it be, right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	in passing

It began the day before when Iwafune returned to Jungle’s secret base. Entering the room, he was greeted with the usual scene of the others absorbed in their own thing: Sukuna playing video games on the mini-television and Yukari seated in front of his vanity mirror, carefully applying makeup. Nagare wasn’t there. Kotosaka was perched on the sofa preening. Grumbling softly about the lack of help, Iwafune set down the various necessities he had bought when outside. Since Sukuna and Yukari never did anything, it fell reluctantly on Iwafune’s shoulders to actually do any work around this place.

Finished with his task, Iwafune sat down momentarily next to the coffee table. Neither Yukari nor Sukuna acknowledged him. Brats. “Oi oi, Sukuna. Yukari. Both of you stop what you’re doing and listen. I have something to say.”

“Oh? Speak your mind Iwa-san. I am in the midst of something…quite important.” Yukari drawled, examining his reflection in the mirror.

“Yeah just tell us Iwa-san, I’m busy.” Sukuna replied, never taking his eyes off his game.

Iwafune could feel a headache coming on. Reaching into one of the bags he had brought back, he opened a can of beer. He had a feeling he would need it. Why did he even try to reason with these two? “Fine then. Tomorrow is Nagare’s birthday.”

That got Sukuna’s and Yukari’s attention. “Nagare’s birthday?” Sukuna sat up, finally stopping playing his game. Sukuna watched Iwafune get up and walk across the room where the elder man slumped onto the couch, relaxing. “It’s really tomorrow?”

“That certainly is a delightful occasion.” Yukari mused.

“Yup. So I don’t want both of you making any trouble tomorrow. Let Nagare have a peaceful day.”

Yukari made a noncommittal noise, citing his agreement but Sukuna’s mind was on other things. “Are we going to celebrate? Iwa-san? Iwa-san! Reply me!” Sukuna moved from his position on the floor to leap onto the couch in two bounds, grabbing Iwafune’s shoulder as he rocked the couch. Iwafune cursed, narrowly avoiding spilling his drink and not-so-gently pushing Sukuna away. “Yes, Sukuna. And don’t just jump onto the sofa, it could have been damaged!”

Sukuna didn’t care about Iwafune’s scolding. “Are we going to give a gift to Nagare?”

Iwafune and Yukari exchanged glances. Iwafune proceeded to venture to say, “Hmph…not exactly Sukuna. We’ll just have dinner together.”

“Do you have something in mind Sukuna-chan?” Yukari asked, genuinely curious what Sukuna thought. At Yukari’s question, Sukuna frowned, thinking.

“Uh…not really…” It was true, what did Nagare like? Sukuna thought darkly of Nagare speaking in reverent tones of ‘The Silver King’ but pushed it away. Nagare didn’t seem opposed to videogames but because of his disability he couldn’t play them. Food like Iwa-san said? Cake? Everyone had cake on their birthday. And since Iwa-san did the cooking all the time, it couldn’t be _too_ difficult. As though thinking along the same lines as Sukuna was, Iwafune spoke up. “I could prepare a cake for Nagare. The ingredients are in the fridge already.”

Sukuna brightened up. “I’ll do it Iwa-san!”

He received a less than exuberant response. “That’s not a good idea Sukuna.”

“Huh? Why not?”

Yukari spoke up. “To put it bluntly Sukuna-chan, you’ll destroy the whole kitchen. What little of it that isn’t decrepit already.” Yukari replied, earning a scowl from Iwafune.

Sukuna huffed, puffing out his cheeks indignantly. Even Yukari thought he wasn’t up to it? “That’s mean Yukari.”

“Oh?” Yukari smiled indulgently at Sukuna. “Let me see. Remember the time some two weeks ago we ate dinner? And Iwa-san asked you to help him load the dishwasher? And …it managed to catch fire? That was truly shocking.”

Sukuna scowled deeply at Yukari’s smug face. He didn’t need to bring up that incident! “That was one time! One time. How was I supposed to know the stupid fuse was broken anyway?”

“Or the time you came running through the entrance and nearly tripped on Kotosaka-chan? The possibility of you breaking something is quite high~” Hearing his name Kotosaka warked, flapping his wings. Sukuna had to fight the urge to fling something at the damned parrot. “Do you even know how to cook Sukuna-chan?”

“Urgh…I can learn!” Yukari spoke the truth, Sukuna had never needed to learn cooking before. Even after he had run away from that home, Sukuna had survived on his own wits, eating outside. Taking his silence for acceptance, Yukari hummed softly. “No need to rush Sukuna-chan, there will be other opportunities.” “So, So. Listen to what Yukari says.” Iwafune said, before the conversation between the two adults switched to a more casual topic.

But Sukuna sat alone, thinking.

It was late in the afternoon, nearing evening on Nagare’s birthday. No one in the headquarters had mentioned it, but there was a sense of lightness in the air. Sukuna surveyed the living room, checking once last time. Yukari was outside overseeing a mission. Iwafune had taken Nagare outside for, to put it in his words ‘Let Nagare get some fresh air for once’. Sukuna was alone, since Kotosaka has accompanied the two.

It was a good time. No one was around to stop him. He had even prepared, checking on the internet on his PDA the steps required to bake a cake. The problem was, what cake would Nagare like? What if he chose the wrong one and Nagare hated it? What if Nagare was allergic to something ridiculous and Sukuna ended up giving his King a heart attack? In the end Sukuna had chosen something that looked easy enough to do: Chocolate cake. The recipe seemed simple enough: Chuck in all the ingredients together, mix and put them in the oven. Simple.

Sukuna walked over to the fridge, opening it. Pushing aside Iwa-san’s cans of beer, he grabbed what was needed and settled them with a small ‘thump’ sound on the counter. Sukuna frowned at the counter which was covered in grease marks and stains. Yukari was right, the kitchen-if you could call it a kitchen- was disgusting. Iwafune complained so much about him alone doing all the chores, but everything was still filthy? Did he even try?

…Forget it. He needed to get this done before Yukari or Iwa-san returned.

Sukuna checked the recipe for the first step. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and line the pan with baking paper. Easy enough. Sukuna bent down, opening the oven door and nearly began sneezing at the sheer amount of dust that came out. “Yuck!” Sukuna jumped back a few steps coughing. When had the oven been last cleaned?! Had it ever been cleaned? When the dust settled, Sukuna squatted down to look inside.

There were literally cobwebs inside.

Gross. _Gross_.

“Good thing Yukari isn’t here, he’ll freak.” Sukuna mumbled under his breath, getting up and yanking off a paper towel from the roll to clean the inside. By the time he was done a good fifteen minutes had passed. Sukuna slammed the oven door shut and turned the knob to the correct temperature. He placed the baking pan aside from the rest and got out the baking paper, tearing off a suitable amount to cover the base. Here he encountered his next problem: The paper kept tearing in half. Even as Sukuna gave up and began tearing yet another, the flimsy see-through paper ripped again into small shreds. What the hell was this cheap material made of? Why did Iwa-san even buy this useless stuff? “Gah!” Giving up, Sukuna tossed the shredded paper inside. It would still serve the same purpose after all right? He felt uneasy about his decision but Sukuna continued.

After that, things seemed to smooth out. Sukuna proceeded to beat the flour, cocoa powder eggs and the other ingredients together in a mixing bowl using a spatula he had found in one of the drawers. The recipe had said ‘beat till smooth’ but how long was that supposed to be? Five minutes? Ten? Sukuna stared dubiously at the mixture. It was mostly smooth but there were still some lumps left from bits of egg shell that had gone into the mixture. Maybe that would make the cake firm? Sukuna glanced at the clock. About an hour had gone by. He hoped the rest wouldn’t suddenly come back, the recipe said the cake had to be baked for another good forty-five minutes or so. Gingerly, Sukuna grasped the bowl and poured it into the pan making sure to spread it out evenly. Once he was done, he opened the oven and stashed the pan inside before setting the timer.

Now to wait. Sukuna dumped the cooking equipment he had used into the sink and rolled up his sleeves to wash them. It was boring work, but Sukuna felt a smug sense of satisfaction. Yukari and the old man had doubted his capabilities but he had completed the task successfully for Nagare. He, Gojo Sukuna, would never be defeated by something as simple as making a stupid cake. Afterwards, Sukuna killed time by playing videogames on the television before he heard the timer go off.

Finally! Sukuna jumped up and jerked the oven door open, a blast of hot air greeting him. Thoughtlessly, Sukuna grabbed the grill rack with his hand to extract the cake and felt burning pain shoot up his arm. “Fuck!” Hissing, Sukuna wrung his hand before dashing it under cold water. The pain wasn’t that bad besides the first excruciating minute, he had gotten far worse injuries when he had fought against enemies. His green aura would heal it soon, Sukuna knew but still, it burned. After a few tense minutes, Sukuna gritted his teeth and withdrew his hand from the cold water, testing it. There was a vivid red burn mark covering most of his right palm and it stung badly to flex his fingers but it was durable. It would be okay within a day or two. Until then though he’ll be more careful.

Now using a cloth to retrieve the cake, Sukuna gently set the cake on the counter. It smelled good, but just to make sure he broke off a corner of the cake and nibbled it. In hindsight maybe he should have not added so much sugar…but it tasted pretty good in his opinion. And if Yukari or Iwa-san complained, well they could suck it so long as Nagare liked it. Sukuna was so focused on his task, he didn’t hear the sound of the door being pushed open. “Sukuna? What are you doing?” Spinning around, Sukuna met his King’s eyes. Nagare had entered the room, alone besides Kototsaka who was fluttering around the entrance.

“N-Nagare! You’re back early.” Sukuna stammered, unconsciously trying to slide in front of the cake so Nagare couldn’t see it. “Not necessarily Sukuna. Iwa-san went to pick up some additional things from the supermarket so he asked me to return first. What is behind your back?”

“Uh…” Sukuna struggled to find an excuse before giving up. After all Nagare would find out sooner or later. He stepped sheepishly aside so Nagare could see it. “Its…don’t laugh ok Nagare. It’s a cake…um…happy birthday Nagare?”

It was oftentimes hard to read Nagare’s expression but Sukuna could see the surprise in Nagare’s uncovered eye. “…I see. So this is why Iwa-san and Yukari have been tip-toing around me today?”

“I guess? Didn’t you remember the day Nagare?”

“Of course. But it is nothing momentous. However…I appreciate the sentiment Sukuna. Thank you.” Nagare replied, giving Sukuna a sincere smile. Sukuna lit up under his King’s praise, feeling near jubilant. _Nagare likes it!_ Sukuna beamed at his King. “I’m glad Nagare! Hey Nagare, try it.”

“Let’s wait till Iwa-san and Yukari come back. They should be back soon.” Sukuna agreed and settled down on the tatami to continue his game where he had stopped. He shifted himself so his injured hand would be out of Nagare’s direct line of sight and quietness reigned momentarily over the place. But he should have known it would be in vain.

Nagare noticed everything.

“Sukuna, what is wrong with your hand?” Sukuna jerked guilty, his injured hand making an involuntary flexing movement and causing the burn to throb painfully again. There was a flutter of wings as Kotosaka flapped over to where to Sukuna was. Sukuna groaned, battering away the parrot as it flew too close to his head for comfort. “Sukuna hurt! Sukuna hurt!” Kotosaka squawked, flying away above Sukuna from a safe distance.

 _Damn_. “It’s seriously nothing Nagare. I was uh, careless. It will go away soon.”

“Let me see.” Seeing his King wouldn’t take no for an answer, Sukuna gave up and walked over to Nagare, outstretching his hand. Nagare being restrained could not physically examine Sukuna’s hand, but Sukuna noted how his King’s eyebrows furrowed as his lips pursed into a thin line when he inspected Sukuna’s palm. “Nagareeeee. Don’t look like that, it’s just a puny burn. It will be gone by tomorrow!”

“Sukuna. Ask Iwa-san to bandage it for you when he comes back.” There was zero negotiation in Nagare’s tone but Sukuna tried anyway. “Eh, do I have to ask that old man for help Nagare? If it’s really necessary I can do it myself…”

“Even a small wound can become deadly if not treated properly, Sukuna. And-” Nagare noticed Sukuna about to protest, “It will reassure me to know your injuries have been taken care of.”

“But…” Sukuna softly complained before giving in. He couldn’t disobey Nagare’s request. “Urgh. Fine then.” Sukuna went back to his seat, aiming a kick at Kotosaka to vent out his feelings as the parrot flew around.

“We’re back! We bought food too!” Iwafune’s voice echoed around the flat as he walked in, carrying shopping bags. The aroma of fried rice drifted out and Sukuna’s stomach rumbled, reminding him how long it had been since lunchtime. Behind him, Yukari entered closing the door smoothly. Sukuna guessed the mission had went well.

“Welcome back Iwa-san, Yukari. Iwa-san, Sukuna’s hand is hurt. Could you tend to him?”

“Nagare!” Sukuna complained, grimacing. “You didn’t need to be so direct…I can do it myself…” Sukuna scowled at 'Iwa-san' as the elder man walked over and gently grabbed Sukuna’s wrist, examining the offending palm. The elder man frowned and made a tutting sound, before getting up to get the first-aid kit. “Really now Sukuna. What did you do when we were out?”

“I think it’s obvious.” Yukari remarked as he walked over to the kitchen area, examining the cake. “So you went behind mine and Iwa-san’s backs to bake the cake for Nagare-chan anyway? Such a bad child.”

“Shut up Yukari.”

Sukuna squirmed impatiently as Iwafune applied the alcohol dab over the wound and carefully bandaged it. As soon as he was done Sukuna yanked his hand away.

“Make sure you don’t put any pressure on it for the next few days Sukuna.” Iwafune warned, before he too got up. “Fuck that.” Sukuna mumbled under his breath when Iwa-san’s back was turned.

“ _Language_ , Sukuna-chan.”

“Yeah, yeah Yukari.”

“Listen to him if you won’t listen to me Sukuna. Don’t become all brawn and no brains.” Iwafune’s floating voice came from the next room as he returned.

“Hmm. It is cute of you, Sukuna-chan. You’re growing up so fast, learning to think of others~”

“Are you two done yet?” Sukuna snapped. “Quit always patronising me. It’s annoying.” Seeing Sukuna getting ready to sulk, Yukari smiled and shook his head in mock despair. By the way of an apology, Yukari leaned over to ruffle Sukuna’s silvery locks earning him a glare. Sukuna half-heartedly swatted a hand at Yukari, scowling even deeper when Yukari merely chuckled. As they prepared to eat around their table, Sukuna watched his comrades. Iwa-san was helping Nagare to cut the cake. Yukari was arranging the dishes. Nagare himself was watching the other two elder members too. He caught Sukuna's eye, and a tentative smile formed on Nagare's pale face.

Sukuna smiled back.

So long Nagare was here, everything would be fine.

Sukuna hoped Nagare was happy.


End file.
